Major League (1989)

The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.

Director:

David S. Ward (as David Ward)

Writer:

David S. Ward (as David Ward)

Stars:

Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Berenger	...	Jake Taylor
Charlie Sheen	...	Ricky Vaughn
Corbin Bernsen	...	Roger Dorn
Margaret Whitton	...	Rachel Phelps
James Gammon	...	Lou Brown
Rene Russo	...	Lynn Wells
Wesley Snipes	...	Willie Mays Hayes
Charles Cyphers	...	Charlie Donovan
Chelcie Ross	...	Eddie Harris
Dennis Haysbert	...	Pedro Cerrano
Andy Romano	...	Pepper Leach
Bob Uecker	...	Harry Doyle
Steve Yeager	...	Duke Temple
Peter Vuckovich	...	Haywood
Stacy Carroll	...	Suzanne Dorn

Storyline

Rachel Phelps is the new owner of the Cleveland Indians baseball team. However, her plans for the team are rather nefarious. She wants to move the team to Miami for the warmer climate and a new stadium. To justify the move, the team has to lose, and lose badly. So she assembles the worst possible team she can. Among these are a past-his-prime catcher with bad knees, a shrewd but past-his-prime pitcher, a young tearaway pitcher (and felon) with a 100 mph fastball but absolutely no control, a third baseman who is too wealthy and precious to dive, a voodoo-loving slugger who can't hit a curve ball and an energetic-but-naive lead off hitter and base-stealer who can't keep the ball on the ground. Against the odds, and after the inevitable initial failures, they iron out some of their faults and start to win, much to Ms Phelps' consternation.

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Plot Keywords:

cutout | eccentricity | homerun | dog | watching television | 

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Taglines:

When these three oddballs try to play hardball, the result is totally screwball.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Japanese

Release Date:

7 April 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Indianer von Cleveland

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,836,265, 9 April 1989, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$49,797,148

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirage Enterprises,Morgan Creek Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Willie Mays Hayes says he can "run like Hayes," he is referring to 'Bullet' Bob Hayes, an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who became a Hall of Fame wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers from 1965-1975. Once considered the fastest man alive as the holder of several world records, he is the only athlete to win an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring.

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Goofs

Through out the movie both Vaughn and Harris appear as starting, relief and closing pitchers. Major League pitchers are designated as one or the other and will rarely enter a game outside of their designated spot (e.g. it's rare for relief or closing pitcher to start a game or a starting pitcher to come in as a relief or closing pitcher).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rachel Phelps: Good morning, gentlemen, and welcome to another season of Indians baseball.

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Connections

Referenced in Sports Jeopardy!: Episode #1.1 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Mexican Hat Dance
Traditional
Performed by Jack Grunsky

User Reviews

My first contact with Baseball...

As you might know, Baseball is not big in Germany. Hardly anybody knows or understands the rules. People watch soccer here. Basketball gets bigger. But Baseball? No.

So this movie, which many of my friends watched as well, was my first contact with this interesting sport. Of course, it is a fairy tale. Of course, the underdog won't get that big that it will beat everybody and win the championship. Or will it?

Sports history tells us different. The story is the same in every sport. Just two years ago, a team just promoted from second division won the German soccer championship!

This movie depicts the glorious story of a bunch of outsiders and underachievers who finally win some games. And it is told in such a wonderful manner that you can't but root for them on their way out of the slumps. Yes! It is a simple story! But the characters are wonderful, the wisecracking Harry Doyle incredibly funny and the finals... well... no spoilers here.

My most favorite moment is when oldtimer pitcher Harris is replaced by Charlie Sheens character in the finals. In the first games of the season, some die-hard fans had given Sheen the nickname "Wild thing" and sang the famous song. Now, the whole crowd is chanting this song as Sheen steps onto the field to pitch his largest enemy. This scene always gives me goosebumps. It is splendid.

Many great moments, excellent humor and a fate you would wish for your favorite sports team as well - unless you are one of those boring Yankees, Bulls or Bayern Muenchen fans...